Hezbollah supporters, flags in hand, parade on motorbikes in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, on May 15, 2022, the day of the legislative elections. (Credit: Issam Abdallah/Reuters)
BEIRUT — The Amal Movement and Hezbollah on Wednesday called on their supporters to "stop organizing motorbike convoys" across Lebanon, as the phenomena has repeatedly occurred following election day on Sunday. The order comes a few hours before a speech by the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, scheduled for this evening at 8:30 p.m.
Here’s what we know:
• In a joint statement, the parties said that they "understand the feelings of their supporters after all the provocations and charges" against them and support "all the manifestations of joy following the election results.” The two parties called for "stopping the organization of motorcycle convoys so that we don’t take things to a place that disrupts [our] success in the elections.”
• "The ballot is over, and what is needed today is a return to dialogue and meeting to get out of the stifling economic situation,” the statement continued. "We must not behave in ways that can be described as provocative by the other sides,” it added, calling on security forces to “prevent the [gun] shots” and to "arrest the offenders, whoever they are, just like those who shot at Amal and Hezbollah sympathizers in the past few hours.”
• Though new parliamentary alliances have not been solidified, Sunday’s elections appear to have resulted in a setback for Hezbollah, Amal, the Free Patriotic Movement and their allies, which will most likely see them losing their majority in Parliament. The Lebanese Forces became the biggest Christian party in Parliament, with 19 seats, compared with 17 seats belonging to the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah’s ally.
• Monday, the head of Hezbollah’s outgoing parliamentary bloc Mohammad Raad, warned his political rivals, saying "don't fan the flames of civil war.”